Soup and Cuddles
by TheDimensionOfWords
Summary: When Toph comes home after a hard week with a cold, Sokka and Lin take it upon themselves to take care of her. Family shenanigans result. Established Tokka


**A/N: A little drabble that got away from me. Enjoy! :)**

An unseasonal cold spell had descended on Republic city, and most found themselves huddling at home in the warmth of loved ones.

This was unfortunately not true for the Chief of Police, who was busy making sure the law was upheld. She was out catching the bad guys. Or would be, if even the bad guys hadn't decided to take the week off.

By Friday, after working late nights and early mornings, Toph shuffled home in the fading light, a depressing drizzle of rain leaking its way into her armor. The only thing she had caught was a cold, and she opened the door without her usual flair of bending.

Once inside she didn't hesitate in removing her freezing armor as quickly as possible, leaving it on the floor, the rest off her soaked cloths making a trail to the washroom where she quickly stepped into a hot shower. She finally reemerged, loose Earth Nation garb and towel over shoulder.

Retracing her path back to the front of the house, she found her dirty clothes picked up and no doubt ready to be washed. Her armor, which she had been dreading cleaning and polishing to keep it from rusting, was resting on the dining table, looking brand new to her sight.

A smile creeping on her face for the first time in days, she made her way to the kitchen. There she found Lin sitting on the counter, stirring a bowl of something. Sokka was close by, frying some delicious smelling meat.

"Mama!" Lin squealed happily, setting aside her task and slipping into her mother's open arms. Snuggling close, Lin quickly started babbling about her day, talking about what she had learned in school and how she got to sit in with a Council meeting after. Sokka smiled over at the scene, pressing a brief kiss to Toph's cheek when he passed by to retrieve ingredients from behind her. Due to her weary state of mind, a blush came to tint her cheeks as though they were still young again.

Lin didn't let this distract her from her storytelling, though the smile on her face broadened slightly and she switched to telling what a good job she and Sokka had done on the armor. "We did it just like you do, Mama," she boasted, reaching a hand to turn her mother's head in the general direction of master piece.

"Thank you badgermole, I saw it," Toph chuckled, gently bumping their foreheads together.

Lin giggled, and proclaimed, "Your voice is all funny."

Before Toph could protest, Sokka broke his unusual silence, "Your mother has a cold. Luckily, I am preparing my magical-get-better soup, so soon she will be fixed!" He scooped the little girl from Toph's arms and swooped around in a circle, causing laughter from both of his ladies.

"Well thank the spirits, Doctor Sokka is in the house," Toph chuckled, trying to hid a few coughs in between. Lin and Sokka shared a look, not fooled one bit. Lin then took on a thoughtful look and, giving Sokka a wink, squirmed out of his arms. Hurrying over, she snatched her mother's hand and began dragging Toph out of the kitchen.

"Time to rest, Chief!" she ordered, heading to the couch in the living room. Once satisfied that her bemused mother would stay put, Lin scrounged the house for the fuzziest blankets and the fluffiest pillows. Bringing them all to the couch, she made a nest and crawled in with a content Toph.

Before Toph could be tempted into sleep by her warm resting place and hard day, Sokka appeared with a tray of soup. Passing out bowls and spoons, he climbed in as well. Lin happily sat between her two favorite people, slurping her soup carefully so as not to ruin the moment.

Even when dinner was finished, the three of them made up for what felt like a week apart. Toph made light of her boring work, finding some humorous moments to share. Sokka made horrible impressions of his coworkers and Lin described how she taught one of her teachers a new earth bending move.

Far past her bedtime, a dosy Lin was carried to her bed by Sokka. Receiving a kiss from each of her parents, she was quickly off to dreamland.

Toph and Sokka found themselves back on the couch, Toph snuggling on his chest. After a few moments of silence, basking in each others presence till their breathing and heartbeats were insync, Sokka felt her murmur something.

"What was that?" he humming, hand working to free her hair from its bun.

"I said, I love you, dumbass," she spoke up, voice so sleepy her teasing hardly came through. She sighed contently when he completed his task and began to gently run his fingers through her hair, working out little knots and sometimes pausing to massage her shoulders or scalp.

Sokka chuckled, the vibrations moving from his body to hers. She responded by nuzzling her face into his neck, reaching a hand out to snatch one of his and intertwine their fingers. "Shut up," she muttered, using her free hand to give him a light punch.

"No," he answered, grinning and shifting to wrap an arm around her waist, securing their cuddle. "Because I have one thing to say to you, oh mighty bender."

"And what is that, boomerang guy?" she murmured, sleep almost claiming her.

"Love you too, sweetie," he whispered into her ear.

"Oogies..." was her reply, before her eyes drifted shut. Sokka smiled in a found, love struck way that he never let her see, pressing a final kiss to the top of her head, before joining her in sleep.


End file.
